Recently I was chatting with some dogs and they gave me a great idea. They were discussing a topic and the fact that they had little to no input regarding the matter came up. It was then that the idea of providing a voice for the animals in their own magazine came up.

It would work something like this:

First I would have to interview dogs (and or other animals) and hold auditions to see who has the aptitude for it and the desire to contribute to the publication. The interviews would be set up through their people and those animals that were interested in the project and who had the best communication abilities would be considered for the job.

I would have several positions that I would be interviewing animals for. We would want to have a column all about dogs, one dedicated to cats and perhaps one for rabbits, hamsters and horses, of course reptiles and birds would want to get in on it at some point.

The easiest approach would be to model the magazine after an existing magazine in the field, with subtle changes here and there so that it is still it’s own format and of course the vast majority of the content would be generated by animal contributors.

I think that having a column that addresses senior pets and their special needs would be nice, as would be a fashion column by a fashion savvy dog. Other columns that would be fun would be one dedicated to the traveling pet, a health corner and of course reviews of current movies and TV shows that involve animals as well as product reviews, including snacks, treats and toys.

It could start out as an online magazine or simply launch alongside an established magazine that is already in the field.

The key is to have all of the articles produced by animals. Using either myself or some other previously vetted animal communicators, we would bring forward the content and be responsible for taking the information from the animals and translating it into english. This is an area where a good copy editor (human) would be helpful.

The magazine could include contests, photo galleries and much more … there could be one general magazine, or based upon it’s success, additional titles could be brought forth, such as for the birds by the birds.

The magazine would be a very straight forward communication from the animal world with as little spin being put on it by humans as possible. The target audience would be anyone who cares about animals and most importantly it should be viewed as a publication for the animals, by the animals. One that you can sit down with your dog and read to them, with the knowledge that the material in the articles was put forth by one of your animals peers.

There could be a question and answer column, similar to Dear Abbey or something of that nature.

I have heard of music CD’s where the music chosen for the CD was selected by dogs, for dogs. This is taking that concept to the next level.

I would be very interested in hearing back from others who wish to be involved in such a project, or who have thoughts and ideas regarding such a publication. Your comments are most welcome.